Baltimore Co. Police Officer Shot Outside Overlea Party

OVERLEA, Md. (WJZ) — An off-duty police officer was shot twice during a melee in a Baltimore County neighborhood. It happened in the early morning hours.

Gigi Barnett reports the shooter is still on the loose.

Shortly after 3 a.m. Sunday, Baltimore County Police say a driver approached the intersection of Dale and Kenwood avenues in Overlea but there was a large fight in the middle of the street. The driver stopped and asked the crowd to let him by. Police say that’s when someone pulled out a gun and shot the driver. The victim was a police officer, but he was off-duty at the time.

“There is no indication that anybody knew who he was,” said police spokesman Cpl. John Wachter. “It could have easily been anyone else driving their car down the street. ‘Hey, can you move? I’d like to get my car by’ and anybody could have been victim to that.”

Minutes after the shooting, Baltimore County police arrived on the scene and spotted the off-duty officer bleeding from two gunshot wounds. Medics rushed him to Shock Trauma. Investigators are not revealing his identity, and detectives are searching for the shooter.

“Interviewing witnesses and people in the area. We’re asking everybody that might know something about the incident, something unusual in the area, to call our communications center,” Wachter said.

Neighbors believe the fight spilled over from a teen party that became violent.

Detectives believe that the shooting was random and not intended for the officer.